Rick Nelson and his band were on their way to a New Year’s Eve sock-hop in Dallas, Texas when a fire broke out aboard their plane, a Douglas DC-3. The pilots were forced to make a crash landing northeast of Dallas. Nelson and his fiancee were killed along with five members of his band. Both pilots were able to escape through the cockpit windows and survived. After an investigation into the crash, the cause was found to be a mechanical problem with the cabin heater.